For these men are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day. But this is what was uttered through the prophet Joel... -- Acts 2:15-16
When the Holy Spirit is poured out upon God's people their experiences will differ widely. Some will receive new vision, others will know a new liberty in soul-winning, others will proclaim the Word of God with power, and yet others will be filled with heavenly joy or overflowing praise. "This ... and this ... and this ... is that!" Let us praise the Lord for every new experience that relates to the exaltation of Christ and of which it can truly be said that "this" is an evidence of "that". There is nothing stereotyped about God's dealings with His children. Therefore we must not by our prejudices and preconceptions make a water-tight compartment for the working of His Spirit, either in our own lives or in the lives of others. This applies equally to those who require some particular manifestation (such as `speaking with tongues') as evidence that the spirit has come upon them and to those who deny that any manifestation is given at all. We must leave God free to work as He wills, and to give what evidence He pleases of the work He does. He is Lord, and it is not for us to legislate for Him.
Let us rejoice that Jesus is on the throne, and let us praise Him that, since He has been glorified, the Spirit has been poured out upon us all. As we accept the Divine fact in all the simplicity of faith, we shall know it with such assurance in our own experience that we shall dare to proclaim with confidence -- "This is that!" -- Watchman Nee from The Normal Christian Life
This is from a section in Nee's book about "The Diversity of Experience". In it he relates the different manifestations of being filled with the Holy Spirit as experienced by Charles Finney, R.A. Torrey, and Dwight L. Moody. Moreover, what Peter in his message calls the fulfillment of Joel's prophecy does not match up to the signs the prophet seemed to forecast.
Because I was a member of the Assemblies of God, when I taught about the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, I always taught that it came with the evidence of speaking in tongues. I don't feel bad about doing that because if anyone asked me, as they sometimes did, why they "couldn't receive", I told them to seek God and not worry about tongues or any other gift. Personally, I sought the gifts of wisdom and discernment since those seemed -- and still seem -- in very short supply in most churches of any stripe.
Did I speak in tongues? Yes, I did, and if I attend a Pentecostal meeting today where I somehow manage not to get so annoyed I feel more like speaking in hillbilly, I am liable to begin praying in tongues. Sometimes when I'm praying, especially for someone else, I will break into tongues. In a service, my rational mind says it's probably mob-think; in private, it's just a habit. My rational mind doesn't know everything and is wrong on a fairly regular basis.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit, whatever that means, is mostly beyond our normal ways of thinking and understanding. It is nonetheless a reality that is available to anyone in Christ. It is something we are called to seek continually.
And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. (Ephesians 5:18-21)
3 comments:
Mush, This is fascinating. I know nothing about it. But would like to know more. Were you amazed the first time? Do you regard it as a miracle of sorts? I assumed that by tongues you mean a language you do not know. It that true?
Like I said, I know nothing about it...please forgive my ignorance.
The first time I experienced a bunch of people speaking in tongues, I was really uncomfortable.
By the time I experienced it, I had been around it enough -- both in terms of hearing people pray and the gift of tongues with interpretation, that I had come to be a lot more at ease with the idea.
Supposedly, it is a language never learned. Sometimes it is called a prayer language or a heavenly language -- meaning that it is not a known human language. It doesn't really sound like baby-talk, but it could easily pass for nonsense or babbling.
What's odd to me is that I have heard it and essentially gotten the idea of what was being said, and given an interpretation. Not a translation, but my impression of it. I've heard other people give interpretations which I thought were correct.
And I still have to say, after all these years, and all my experience with glossolalia, I still think sometimes there's really nothing to it except a kind of emotional overflow.
I regard it as supernatural -- if it's real.
It's like being "slain" in the Spirit. If you've ever seen Benny Hinn or some of those guys, you'll see people "falling under the power". Mostly that is the power of suggestion.
I have seen people fall and lose consciousness when I was close enough to see that they weren't pushed down or manipulated in any way. It's possible, of course, that it is a kind of self-hypnosis that builds up an expectation on the part of the one who falls.
I am such as skeptic. I tend to doubt I would have started speaking in tongues if a rather notorious preacher hadn't put me on the spot by dragging me out of a crowd and up on the platform to use as demo. "The rest of you watch how it is going to work with this man."
I am such a skeptic too. Which is why I was so taken by surprise by how God chose to reach me -- very very subtly.
This is very fascinating, Mush. Thanks for explaining ...
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